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This is Paris's first high-rise in decades

This article was first published in the July 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online

The Parisian skyline has been redrawn -- this 50-metre apartment block is the tallest building to be built in central Paris since the early 70s. Paris is one of a handful of developed cities to remain horizontal, largely because of restrictions on building height put in place in 1974. But when the Conseil de Paris lifted the ban in part of the 13th arrondissement in 2011, it led to this €24.5 million (£17.6m) residential building. "Our goal was to make a building that explained this transformation from a horizontal city to a vertical one; the two towers create a skyline," says Jean-Christophe Masson, lead architect of the project, whose firm Hamonic + Masson designed the building with fellow architects Comte Vollenweider. The taller block is all social housing, whereas its 37-metre cousin comprises 96 private apartments.

Masson says that another 50-metre building is being built next door. "From inside, people will be able to see Paris differently," he says. "It's not just this picture for tourists -- that's why we call it Grand Paris."

This article was first published in the July 2015 issue of WIRED magazine